GHENT, Belgium—Esko announced that EskoWorld 2018 will be held on June 5-7 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, TX. EskoWorld 2018 is the 27th annual conference for Esko users. More than ever before, its mission is to create a platform that connects the entire packaging supply chain. Leading brands, graphic and structural designers, flexo trade shops, sign makers and packaging and label converters will share ideas, gain product knowledge business expertise and exchange best practices.
The three-day event includes nearly 100 educational sessions developed to help attendees enhance their knowledge of Esko solutions and expand their education on the industry’s latest trends. Interspersed will be sessions explaining specific product roadmaps, product training and lectures on relevant topics. EskoWorld will focus on a number of inspirational tracks, allowing attendees with varied backgrounds and interests to attend sessions that apply most to them. They include:
- Brands, specification and briefing including project and asset management and the packaging production workflow from idea to shelf
- Design sessions
- Artwork and repro covering ways to produce print-ready artwork efficiently
- Flexo plate making showcasing how companies can take control of flexo plate production. To support this, a CDI Crystal will be at the event
- Printing ideas to help tackle the increased complexity of mixed printing environments (digital, flexo, gravure, offset) and expanded gamut printing
- Finishing—showing how companies can get the most out of their digital finishing equipment. A Kongsberg C24 will be demonstrated live at this years’ EskoWorld, supporting the demand of many users to get first-hand answers on their application and product questions
New this year, Esko and its partners will conduct a three-hour opening session where they will share their vision for the industry’s future. “Packaging Connected: The Event” will start with a fictional program manager at a large CPG brand who is launching an update to an existing consumer product package. Presenters will offer a view as to how such a packaging project will get executed—from concept to finished product—through the eyes of the key supply chain stakeholders, including the brand owner, converters and premedia trade shops. Using a combination of presentations, live product demos and background movies, complemented with an interactive debate between market leading technology suppliers and the audience, Esko and its partners will provide a vantage point and benchmark for each person’s workflow.
“During this EskoWorld, we want to demonstrate how Esko’s future continues to be driven by innovation. Brand owners see a shift in their go-to-market strategies inspired by e-commerce and internet activities. This calls for a strong connection between the physical package on the shelf and its online representation and promotion. Packaging is becoming a gateway to online content related to the product or brand, as a two-way communication tool between the brand and the consumer. This also calls for a faster time to market, feasible if the entire supply chain and the various stakeholders work in sync on a connected workflow platform. Esko’s future will be to continue to innovate the industry, to make “packaging connected,” says Udo Panenka, Esko president.
More and more brand owners have been attending EskoWorld, particularly drawn to its track dedicated exclusively to brand owners. Those responsible for brand packaging can understand how to efficiently manage packaging and packaging assets as part of the go-to-market process and work with partners throughout the complete packaging supply chain.
EskoWorld will, again, also include a concurrent Executive Summit, which will focus on inspiring business owners and decision makers about solutions and opportunities to improve their businesses. The objective is for customers to develop a greater confidence in Esko as a thought leader. It will build on intensive interaction among decision makers on relevant business, technology and economics subjects.
Esko will reprise its Esko Innovation Room, where attendees can consult with an Esko application solution expert or attend mini session in one of the “corner classes” such as how to work with ArtiosCAD.net; navigating Esko online resources; the 3D experience; and learning about Equinox, and other color management tools.
A growing number of Esko partners will participate this year at EskoWorld, showcasing their solutions to attendees, and explaining how they tie into Esko workflows. The partner list includes Asahi, Digimarc, DuPont, EFI, Extensis, GlobalVision, Significans Automation and X-Rite/Pantone.